Systems and methods for passing network traffic content

ABSTRACT

A method for transmitting content data includes receiving content data, and passing at least a portion of the content data based on a size of the received content data. A method for transmitting content data includes receiving content data, and passing at least a portion of the content data based on a prescribed rate. A method for transmitting content data includes receiving content data, and passing at least a portion of the content data before performing policy enforcement on the content data.

RELATED APPLICATION DATA

This application claims priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/469,233, filed on Aug. 26, 2014, entitled SYSTEMS AND METHODS FORPASSING NETWORK TRAFFICE CONTENT; which claims priority to U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 10/956,240, filed on Sep. 30, 2004, issued as U.S.Pat. No. 8,863,277 on Oct. 14, 2014, and entitled SYSTEMS AND METHODSFOR PASSING NETWORK TRAFFIC CONTENT; which claims priority to U.S.Provisional Application No. 60/560,788, filed Apr. 7, 2004, entitledCOMPUTER, SYSTEM AND METHODOLOGY FOR CONTROLLING DOWNLOAD PROGRESS ATGATEWAY, which are each expressly incorporated by reference herein.

BACKGROUND

1. Field

The field of the invention relates to computer systems and computernetworks, and more particularly, to systems, networks, and methods forpassing content of computer and network traffic.

2. Background

Policy enforcement is an important gateway function, which is performedbetween a gateway and a user. Policy enforcement performed by a gatewayproduct may include, for examples, source verification, destinationverification, user authentication, anti-virus, content scanning, contentdetection, and intrusion detection.

Generally, existing gateway products receive a request for policyenforcement sent by a user, perform policy enforcement, and thentransmit the request to a server. In response to the user's request, theserver sends a reply back to the gateway, which then performs furtherpolicy enforcement. After performing this second policy enforcement, thegateway passes the reply to the user.

The connection (i.e., the data transmission rate) between the gatewayand the server is generally slower than the connection between thegateway and the user. As such, there may be a lag time before thegateway receives all of the data of a reply (or a prescribed amount ofdata) from the server. In addition, existing gateway products aregenerally configured to first receive all data of a reply from a server,and then perform policy enforcement on the reply before passing thereply to the user. Thus, the user may experience a lag time before thereply from the server reaches the user. When the user is a computerprogram, such as an email software or a web browser, this lag time mayresult in a timeout at the user side, or may give an end user the wrongimpression that the reply did not come back or that a transmission errorhad occurred. In some cases, this lag time may lead to the userterminating or canceling the request.

Accordingly, systems and methods for passing content of computer andnetwork traffic would be useful.

SUMMARY

In accordance with some embodiments, a method for transmitting contentdata includes receiving content data, and passing at least a portion ofthe content data based on a size of the received content data.

In accordance with other embodiments, a system for transmitting contentdata includes means for receiving content data, and means for passing atleast a portion of the content data based on a size of the receivedcontent data.

In accordance with other embodiments, a computer product includes a setof stored instructions, an execution of which causes a process to beperformed, the process comprising receiving content data, and passing atleast a portion of the content data based on a size of the receivedcontent data.

In accordance with other embodiments, a method for transmitting contentdata includes receiving content data, and passing at least a portion ofthe content data based on a prescribed rate.

In accordance with other embodiments, a system for transmitting contentdata includes means for receiving content data, and means for passing atleast a portion of the content data based on a prescribed rate.

In accordance with other embodiments, a computer product includes a setof stored instructions, an execution of which causes a process to beperformed, the process comprising receiving content data, and passing atleast a portion of the content data based on a prescribed rate.

In accordance with other embodiments, a method for transmitting contentdata includes receiving content data, and passing at least a portion ofthe content data before performing policy enforcement on the receivedcontent data.

In accordance with other embodiments, a system for transmitting contentdata includes means for receiving content data, and means for passing atleast a portion of the content data before performing policy enforcementon the received content data.

In accordance with other embodiments, a computer product includes a setof stored instructions, an execution of which causes a process to beperformed, the process comprising receiving content data, and passing atleast a portion of the content data before performing policy enforcementon the received content data.

Other aspects and features will be evident from reading the followingdetailed description of the embodiments, which are intended toillustrate, not limit, the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The drawings illustrate the design and utility of various embodiments,in which similar elements are referred to by common reference numerals.In order to better appreciate how advantages and objects of the presentinventions are obtained, a more particular description will be renderedby reference to specific embodiments thereof, which are illustrated inthe accompanying drawings. Understanding that these drawings depict onlytypical embodiments, and are not therefore to be considered limiting itsscope, the invention will be described and explained with additionalspecificity and detail through the use of the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 illustrates a module for passing content data in accordance withsome embodiments;

FIG. 2 illustrates a method for passing content data in accordance withsome embodiments;

FIG. 3 illustrates a step of the method of FIG. 2 in accordance withsome embodiments;

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of passing content data based on aprescribed rate;

FIG. 5 illustrates an example of passing content data based on apercentage of a size of received data;

FIG. 6 illustrates another method for passing content data in accordancewith alternative embodiments;

FIG. 7 illustrates another method for passing content data in accordancewith alternative embodiments; and

FIG. 8 is a diagram of a computer hardware system with which embodimentsof the present invention can be implemented.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various embodiments are described hereinafter with reference to thefigures. It should be noted that the figures are not drawn to scale andthat elements of similar structures or functions are represented by likereference numerals throughout the figures. It should also be noted thatthe figures are only intended to facilitate the description of specificembodiments of the invention, and not intended as an exhaustivedescription of the invention or as a limitation on the scope of theinvention. In addition, an illustrated embodiment may not show all theaspects or advantages of the invention. An aspect or advantage describedin conjunction with a particular embodiment is not necessarily limitedto that embodiment, and can be practiced in any other embodiments, evenif not so illustrated or described.

FIG. 1 illustrates a data passing module 10 for passing content data(e.g., data of network traffic content) in accordance with someembodiments. Module 10 is configured to receive data of content, such asweb content, from a source 16, and pass at least a portion of thecontent data to a user 14 based on a prescribed protocol.

In the illustrated embodiments, module 10 is implemented as a componentof a gateway 12 (or gateway product), which is configured to performpolicy enforcement. As used in this specification, the term “policyenforcement” refers to a process or procedure, an execution of whichcreates a result that can be used to determine whether to pass data touser, and includes (but is not limited to) one or a combination of:source verification, destination verification, user authentication,virus scanning, content scanning (e.g., scanning for undesirablecontent), and intrusion detection (e.g., detecting undesirable content,such as worms, porno website, etc.). In other embodiments, instead ofbeing a component of gateway 12, module 10 can be a separate componentthat is coupled to gateway 12. In other embodiments, module 10 can be agateway product by itself, and can be implemented at any point along acommunication path between source 16 and user 14. The term “user” shouldnot be limited to a human user, and may include a server, a module, adevice, a computer program, and the like, e.g., any one of a variety ofdevices that can receive and/or transmit information. Similarly, theterm “source” should not be limited to a server, and may include ahardware, a database, a module, a device, a computer program, and thelike, e.g., any one of a variety of devices that can transmit or storeinformation.

In some embodiments, module 10 can be implemented using software. Forexamples, module 10 can be implemented using software that is loadedonto a computer, a server, or other types of memory, such as a disk or aCD-ROM. In some cases, module 10 can be implemented as web application.In alternative embodiments, module 10 can be implemented using hardware,and/or a combination of hardware and software. For example, in someembodiments, module 10 includes an application-specific integratedcircuit (ASIC), such as a semi-custom ASIC processor, or a programmableASIC processor. ASICs, such as those described in Application-SpecificIntegrated Circuits by Michael J. S. Smith, Addison-Wesley Pub Co. (1stEdition, June 1997), are well known in the art of circuit design, andtherefore will not be described in further detail herein. In still otherembodiments, module 10 can be any of a variety of circuits or devicescapable of performing the functions described herein. For example, inalternative embodiments, module 10 can include a general purposeprocessor, such as a Pentium processor. In other embodiments, module 10can be implemented using a combination of software and hardware. In someembodiments, module 10 may be implemented as a firewall, a component ofa firewall, or a component that is configured to be coupled to afirewall.

FIG. 2 illustrates a method 200 for passing content data in accordancewith some embodiments. First, module 10 receives content data (e.g.,data of content) from source 16 (Step 202). For the purpose of thefollowing discussion, it is assumed that the content received isweb-related content, such as a web page requested by user 14. However,it should be understood by those skilled in the art that method 200 ofFIG. 2 can be used to pass other types of content and/or data. Aftercontent data has been received, module 10 then passes at least a portionof the received content data based on a size of the received contentdata (Step 204).

FIG. 3 illustrates step 204 of the method 200 of FIG. 2 in accordancewith some embodiments. Module 10 determines whether the size of totalreceived content data is larger than a prescribed threshold (Step 302).If the size of the total received content data is less than theprescribed threshold, module 10 receives additional content data (e.g.,attempts to collect additional content, which may include an entirereply) (Step 304). As used in this specification, the term “reply”refers to any information being transmitted to user 14, and can include,for example, a web page, a portion of a web page, email, etc. Once it isdetermined that all data for the entire reply has been received (Step305), module 10 then performs policy enforcement on the reply (Step306), and passes it to user 14. In alternative embodiments, instead ofcollecting all content data for the reply before performing policyenforcement on the reply, module 10 performs policy enforcement oncollected content data at intervals, or when a total collected contentdata reaches a prescribed size. Also, in other embodiments, instead ofperforming policy enforcement, module 10 passes content data to anothermodule that performs policy enforcement on the content data before thecontent data is passed to user 14.

If the size of total received content data is more than the prescribedthreshold, module 10 then passes a portion of the received content datato user 14 (Step 310). For example, if the prescribed threshold is 20megabytes, module 10 will attempt to accumulate (or will cause gateway12 to accumulate) 20 megabytes of content data before passing it to user14. Thus, if the total received content data size is less than 20megabytes, module 10 and/or gateway 12 will accumulate more contentdata. However, if the total received content data size is equal to orgreater than 20 megabytes, module 10 and/or gateway 12 will pass thecontent data. In some embodiments, a user interface can be provided thatallows a user 14 or an administrator to prescribe/specify the thresholdfor passing content data. In other embodiments, the prescribed thresholdis set by default in module 10. Also, in further embodiments, theprescribed threshold varies in accordance with the type of content beingtransmitted. For example, email content can have a prescribed thresholdthat is different from that for web page content.

Various techniques can be used to pass a portion of received contentdata to user 14 in step 310. In the illustrated embodiments, a portionof content data is passed based on a prescribed rate. The prescribedrate can be a value that is between 0.5 kilobyte/second and 10gigabytes/second, and more preferably, a value that is between 1.0kilobyte/second and 50 kilobytes/second. However, the prescribed ratecan be other values in other embodiments.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of passing content data at a prescribedrate. In particular, the example of FIG. 4 compares the throughput of anembodiment to that of the prior art using an illustrative prescribedrate of 1 kilobyte/second over the time of t=1 to 6 seconds (Note thatthe time period is illustrative, and can be anything). For example, atstep 310, using the example of FIG. 4, assuming a reply is 14 kilobytesin size, and the prescribed rate is 1 kilobyte/second in such a case,module 10 will pass 1 kilobyte of content data to user 14 every second.In the example, module 10 will continue to receive the content data of areply while passing 1 kilobyte of content data every second, untilmodule 10 receives all 14 kilobytes of content data for the reply.Referring to FIG. 4, and as illustrated in the example, content data ispassed to user 14 from t=1 second to t=6 second. This method isdifferent from existing gateway products in which no content data ispassed until after a certain time, e.g., t=6 second. As such, module 10provides user 14 a sense of progressing as data is being transmitted touser 14. When all content data for the reply is received by module 10,module 10 then performs (or passes the reply data to another module thatperforms) policy enforcement on the reply, and passes the remainingcontent data (e.g., remaining 8 kilobytes of data) for the reply to user14. Alternatively, instead of waiting to receive all content data forthe reply, module 10 performs (or passes to another module thatperforms) policy enforcement when a total received content data reachesa prescribed size. It should be noted that although the previous examplehas been described as receiving all content data for the reply at t=6second, in other cases, the time at which all content data for a replyis received can be different from t=6 second.

In some embodiments, a user interface can be provided that allows user14 or an administrator to set the prescribed rate, thereby specifyinghow much content data will be transmitted or passed per unit time. Insome embodiments, the prescribed rate is set to have a minimum valuesuch that sufficient data is passed (at Step 310) to user 14 to provideuser 14 an impression/indication that the receiving of content data isprogressing (a sense of progressing). For example, if the minimum valueis set to be 1 kilobyte per second, then module 10 will continue to passat least 1 kilobyte of content data every second until it receives allof the reply, such as that illustrated previously in the FIG. 4 example.Alternatively, the minimum value can be set to be other values in otherembodiments.

Alternatively, or additionally, the prescribed rate can also be set tohave a maximum value to prevent too much content data from passing touser 14 (at Step 310), thereby allowing undesirable content (such asvirus) to be detected during policy enforcement. The advantage of havinga prescribed maximum value can be illustrated using the above example.Referring to the above example, since only 6 kilobytes of content datahas been passed to user 14 at t=6 second, after all content data hasbeen received by gateway 12, gateway 12 then performs content scanningon the 14 kilobytes of content data. In this way, gateway 12 can detecta virus of 8 kilobytes in size, for example, before passing the entirecontent data. On the other hand, if the prescribed rate is set to 2kilobytes/second, then 12 kilobytes of content data would have beenpassed to user 14 at t=6 second. In such a case, it may be possible fora virus of 8 kilobytes in size to be passed to user 14 without beingdetected by gateway 12. As such, in some embodiments, it is desirable toset the prescribed rate below a maximum value.

In other embodiments, the prescribed rate is set by default in module10. Also, in further embodiments, the prescribed rate varies inaccordance with the type of content being transmitted. For example,email content can have a prescribed rate that is different from that forweb page content.

In alternative embodiments, instead of passing content data based onprescribed rate, a portion of content data is passed based on aprescribed percentage of a size of content data being received bygateway 12 or module 10. The prescribed percentage can be a value thatis between 0.1% and 99%, and more preferably, a value that is between 5%and 20%. However, the prescribed percentage can be other values in otherembodiments. FIG. 5 illustrates an example of passing content data basedon a prescribed percentage of a size of received content data.

The example of FIG. 5 compares the content data throughput over time tothe prior art using an illustrative prescribed percentage of 10% overthe time of t=1 to 6 seconds, which is also illustrative. In particular,assuming a reply has a size of 150 kilobytes, if a prescribed percentageis 10%, module 10 will send (or will cause gateway 12 to send) 10% ofthe content data it received from source 16 to user 14. Thus, when 60megabytes of the reply is received by module 10, 6 megabytes of contentdata has been passed to user 14, and when the entire reply (e.g., all150 kilobytes of content data) is received on gateway 12, 15 megabytesof content data has been sent to user 14. As illustrated in the FIG. 5example, content data continues to be passed to user 14 over theduration of the lapsed time, e.g., from t=1 second to t=6 second. Assuch, module 10 provides user 14 a sense of progressing.

In the embodiments illustrated by the example of FIG. 5, module 10continues to receive content data for a reply while allowing receivedcontent data to be passed to user 14 based on the prescribed percentageuntil module 10 receives the entire reply. Module 10 (or another module)then performs policy enforcement on the reply. If the result of thepolicy enforcement indicates that content is appropriate to be passed,gateway 12 then passes the remainder of the content data (e.g., 135kilobytes of content data) to user 14. Alternatively, instead of waitingto receive all of the content data for the reply, module 10 performs (orpasses to another module that performs) policy enforcement when a totalreceived content data reaches a prescribed size.

In some embodiments, a user interface can be provided that allows user14 or an administrator to set the prescribed percentage, therebyspecifying how much content data will be transmitted or passed. In someembodiments, the prescribed percentage is set to have a minimum valuesuch that sufficient content data is passed to user 14 (at Step 310) toprovide user 14 with a sense of progressing. For example, if the minimumvalue is set to be 10%, then module 10 will continue to pass at least10% of received content data until it receives all of the reply, such asthat illustrated previously in the FIG. 5 example. Alternatively, theminimum percentage value can be set to be other values in otherembodiments.

Alternatively, or additionally, the prescribed percentage can also beset to have a maximum value to prevent too much content data frompassing to user 14 (at Step 310), thereby allowing undesirable content(such as virus) to be detected during policy enforcement. The advantageof having a prescribed maximum percentage value can be illustrated usingthe above example. Referring to the FIG. 5 example, since only 15kilobytes of content data has been passed to user 14 at t=6 second,after all content data has been received by gateway 12, gateway 12 thenperform content scanning on the reply. In this way, gateway 12 candetect a virus of 20 kilobytes in size, for example, before passing theentire content data. On the other hand, if the prescribed rate is set to20%, then 30 kilobytes of content data would have been passed to user 14at t=6 second. In such a case, it may be possible for a virus of 20kilobytes in size to be passed to user 14 without being detected bygateway 12. As such, in some embodiments, it is desirable to set theprescribed percentage below a maximum value.

In other embodiments, the prescribed percentage is set by default inmodule 10. Also, in further embodiments, the prescribed percentagevaries in accordance with the type of content being transmitted. Forexample, email content can have a prescribed percentage that isdifferent from that for web page content.

As illustrated in the above embodiments, module 10 passes at least aportion of received content data to user 14 before a complete reply isreceived and/or scanned. Such feature provides user 14 a sense ofprogressing. Partially feeding user 14 reply data also makes it lesslikely that an end user will have the wrong impression that nothing ishappening, that the reply is not coming back, or that a transmissionerror had occurred.

Although several embodiments of a method for passing data from a sourceto a user have been described, the scope of the invention should not beso limited. In other embodiments, module 10 can be configured to passcontent data using other algorithms such that a sense of progressing canbe provided to user 14. Also, in other embodiments, one or more stepsdescribed previously can be combined with other step(s).

In addition, in further embodiments, a method needs not include all ofthe steps discussed previously. For example, in other embodiments, thestep 302 of determining whether a size of total received content data islarger than a prescribed threshold is not required, and the method doesnot include such step.

FIG. 6 illustrates a method 600 of passing content data in accordancewith other embodiments, which do not include step 302. In such cases,after module 10 receives content data (Step 602), module 10 then passes(or causes gateway 12 to pass) at least a portion of the receivedcontent data based on a prescribe rate (Step 604).

FIG. 7 illustrates another method 700 of passing content data inaccordance with other embodiments, which do not include step 302. Insuch cases, after module 10 receives content data (Step 702), module 10then passes (or causes gateway 12 to pass) at least a portion of thereceived content data based on a prescribe percentage of the size of thecontent (Step 704).

Although embodiments of module 10 and process 200 have been describedwith reference to passing web content, it should be understood that thesame or similar methods and modules may also be used to pass othercontent, such as emails (being sent or being received), FTP, HTTP, andany electronic information. In some embodiments, module 10 includes aprotocol differentiator (not shown), which examines headers of thenetwork traffic and determines the types of content being passed. Module10 then passes content based on prescribed protocol for the type ofcontent. For example, if it is determined that the content is webcontent, then the content is passed based on a prescribed percentage ofthe total content. On the other hand, if it is determined that thecontent is an email, then a different protocol (e.g., a protocol basedon prescribed rate of data per unit time) can be used to pass thecontent.

In some embodiments, each type of network traffic content ispre-assigned to a port of a network gateway by a default configuration.For example, HTTP, SMTP, POP, IMAP, and FTP data may each bepre-assigned to be transmitted through a designated port. In such acase, a protocol differentiator can determine a type of content based onan identification of a port transmitting the network content. In otherembodiments, protocol differentiator can be configured to scan allavailable ports in order to determine a type of content being screened.

As discussed previously, in some embodiments, a user interface can beprovided that allows the user to select criteria or parameters forpassing network traffic content. For example, module 10 can allow a userto set a threshold(s), a rate at which data are passed, and/or the sizeof data to be passed. Also, in other embodiments, the user interface canallow a user to determine which passing protocol to use for passingdata. For example, the user interface can provide a plurality of passingalgorithms (e.g., data passing based on threshold value, data passingbased on prescribed rate, or data passing based on size of completereply) for a user or an administrator to select. In alternativeembodiments, the user interface can allow a user to formulate and/orprogram customized passing protocol. In further embodiments, the userinterface can allow a user to select which passing protocol to use for acertain type of network content. The user interface can be implementedusing a computer in some embodiments.

Computer Architecture

As described previously, module 10 can be implemented using software,hardware, or a combination therefore. However, those skilled in the artunderstand that a computer system may also be used to implement module10 to perform the same or similar functions described herein.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram that illustrates an embodiment of a computersystem 800 upon which embodiments of the invention may be implemented.Computer system 800 includes a bus 802 or other communication mechanismfor communicating information, and a processor 804 coupled with bus 802for processing information. Computer system 800 also includes a mainmemory 806, such as a random access memory (RAM) or other dynamicstorage device, coupled to bus 802 for storing information andinstructions to be executed by processor 804. Main memory 806 also maybe used for storing temporary variables or other intermediateinformation during execution of instructions to be executed by processor804. Computer system 800 may further include a read only memory (ROM)808 or other static storage device(s) coupled to bus 802 for storingstatic information and instructions for processor 804. A data storagedevice 810, such as a magnetic disk or optical disk, is provided andcoupled to bus 802 for storing information and instructions.

Computer system 800 may be coupled via bus 802 to a display 812, such asa cathode ray tube (CRT), for displaying information to a user. An inputdevice 814, including alphanumeric and other keys, is coupled to bus 802for communicating information and command selections to processor 804.Another type of user input device is cursor control 816, such as amouse, a trackball, cursor direction keys, or the like, forcommunicating direction information and command selections to processor804 and for controlling cursor movement on display 812. This inputdevice typically has two degrees of freedom in two axes, a first axis(e.g., x) and a second axis (e.g., y), that allows the device to specifypositions in a plane.

Embodiments of the invention are related to the use of computer system800 for processing content data. According to some embodiments, such usemay be provided by computer system 800 in response to processor 804executing one or more sequences of one or more instructions contained inthe main memory 806. Such instructions may be read into main memory 806from another computer-readable medium, such as storage device 810.Execution of the sequences of instructions contained in main memory 806causes processor 804 to perform the process steps described herein. Oneor more processors in a multi-processing arrangement may also beemployed to execute the sequences of instructions contained in mainmemory 806. In alternative embodiments, hard-wired circuitry may be usedin place of or in combination with software instructions to implementembodiment(s) described herein. Thus, embodiments described herein arenot limited to any specific combination of hardware circuitry andsoftware.

The term “computer-readable medium” as used herein refers to any mediumthat participates in providing instructions to processor 804 forexecution. Such a medium may take many forms, including but not limitedto, non-volatile media, volatile media, and transmission media.Non-volatile media includes, for example, optical or magnetic disks,such as storage device 810. Volatile media includes dynamic memory, suchas main memory 806. Transmission media includes coaxial cables, copperwire and fiber optics, including the wires that comprise bus 802.Transmission media can also take the form of acoustic or light waves,such as those generated during radio wave and infrared datacommunications.

Common forms of computer-readable media include, for example, a floppydisk, a flexible disk, hard disk, magnetic tape, or any other magneticmedium, a CD-ROM, any other optical medium, punch cards, paper tape, anyother physical medium with patterns of holes, a RAM, a PROM, and EPROM,a FLASH-EPROM, any other memory chip or cartridge, a carrier wave asdescribed hereinafter, or any other medium from which a computer canread.

Various forms of computer-readable media may be involved in carrying oneor more sequences of one or more instructions to processor 804 forexecution. For example, the instructions may initially be carried on amagnetic disk of a remote computer. The remote computer can load theinstructions into its dynamic memory and send the instructions over atelephone line using a modem. A modem local to computer system 800 canreceive the data on the telephone line and use an infrared transmitterto convert the data to an infrared signal. An infrared detector coupledto bus 802 can receive the data carried in the infrared signal and placethe data on bus 802. Bus 802 carries the data to main memory 806, fromwhich processor 804 retrieves and executes the instructions. Theinstructions received by main memory 806 may optionally be stored onstorage device 810 either before or after execution by processor 804.

Computer system 800 also includes a communication interface 818 coupledto bus 802. Communication interface 818 provides a two-way datacommunication coupling to a network link 820 that is connected to alocal network 822. For example, communication interface 818 may be anintegrated services digital network (ISDN) card or a modem to provide adata communication connection to a corresponding type of telephone line.As another example, communication interface 818 may be a local areanetwork (LAN) card to provide a data communication connection to acompatible LAN. Wireless links may also be implemented. In any suchimplementation, communication interface 818 sends and receiveselectrical, electromagnetic or optical signals that carry data streamsrepresenting various types of information.

Network link 820 typically provides data communication through one ormore networks to other devices. For example, network link 820 mayprovide a connection through local network 822 to a host computer 824.Network link 820 may also transmits data between an equipment 826 andcommunication interface 818. The data streams transported over thenetwork link 820 can comprise electrical, electromagnetic or opticalsignals. The signals through the various networks and the signals onnetwork link 820 and through communication interface 818, which carrydata to and from computer system 800, are exemplary forms of carrierwaves transporting the information. Computer system 800 can sendmessages and receive data, including program code, through thenetwork(s), network link 820, and communication interface 818. Althoughone network link 820 is shown, in alternative embodiments, communicationinterface 818 can provide coupling to a plurality of network links, eachof which connected to one or more local networks. In some embodiments,computer system 800 may receive data from one network, and transmit thedata to another network. Computer system 800 may process and/or modifythe data before transmitting it to another network.

Although particular embodiments have been shown and described, it willbe understood that it is not intended to limit the present inventions tothe preferred embodiments, and it will be obvious to those skilled inthe art that various changes and modifications may be made withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the present inventions. Forexample, in other embodiments, one or more functions performed by module10 may be implemented using one or more processors or one or moresoftware. The specification and drawings are, accordingly, to beregarded in an illustrative rather than restrictive sense. The presentinventions are intended to cover alternatives, modifications, andequivalents, which may be included within the spirit and scope of thepresent inventions as defined by the claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for transmitting content data,comprising: receiving content data; and passing at least a portion ofthe content data based on a size of the received content data.